Military members whose bodies were not claimed by close friends or family were at one time laid to rest with little to no acknowledgement.

Some veterans die homeless and/or without surviving relatives to claim their bodies in order to have a proper funeral. Then there are those with surviving relatives who simply do not wish to claim them, for some reason.

If anyone deserves a celebratory and honorable funeral, it’s these brave men and women who risked their lives to serve their country.

Robert Krause served as a Marine in the 1950s. When he passed away, he had no family and no one to claim him.

“I’ve heard it said that a veteran dies twice: once on the battlefield and the second time when people stop saying his name,” says Marine Corps and US Army veteran Nick Morales. “If there’s anything we can do to prevent the latter, so be it.”

And so Nick and his other generous volunteer bikers arrived at Robert’s funeral service to escort his casket from the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital to the Florida National Cemetery.

Robert received the goodbye he so deserved, complete with a motorcycle escort and a gorgeous rolling tribute of the taps bugle call. They were there to proudly say his name.